Tender Moments
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: As the long game continues, Josh and Maya find themselves in several tender moments, whether they expect them or not. A series of Joshaya drabbles and one shots. Rated T for possible upcoming themes in future one shots.


_**A/N: Hello hello lovely readers! It's been a while since I posted anything, and this past year has definitely been crazy. Hard to believe it's November already! This is going to be part of a series of drabbles/ one shots that I hope to be working on. Adding onto them will be on the slower side since free time can be hard to come by. Anywho, enjoy!**_

The ice cubes in her stemmed water glass clinked as more water was poured. "Do you want to order now? You've been here a while…" the waitress trailed.

"No, not yet. He should be here soon," Maya replied, not even buying her own answer.

The waitress raised an eyebrow as she nodded and went to attend another nearby table.

Maya propped her head on her hand as she traced the edge of her water glass with her finger. She glanced around the upscale restaurant, hoping that her date would be weaving through the sea of tables towards her, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. For what seemed to be the hundredth time since she arrived, Maya looked down at her phone and sighed.

He was approaching being nearly two hours late.

She dropped her phone back into her purse and started to fiddle with one of the loose strands of hair that she had curled to perfect her side sweeping ponytail. Maya shook her head as she looked at how she was dressed and rested her head in her hands. "What am I still doing here? How could I be so stupid?" she asked herself.

"You're not stupid," a voice said behind her.

Maya froze. Needless to say, she wasn't expecting an answer, let alone from a very familiar voice. She turned around in her chair to see Josh standing there, with his hands in his pockets.

"How long have you been standing there?" Maya deadpanned.

"Longer than you'd like," he responded with a slight smirk. "May I?" Josh asked as he gestured towards the empty seat in front of her.

Maya closed her eyes briefly and pressed her lips into a thin line, allowing herself to nod. Josh pulled the chair out, sat down, and clasped his hands on top of the table. She narrowed her eyes as she studied him. Josh had a small smirk on his lips, but his eyes gave away his true intentions. They glinted with concern. "What are you doing here?" she finally asked, cutting to the chase.

Josh let out a silent chuckle as he leaned back in his chair. "I saw you in through the window of the restaurant. I was on the way home from a meeting and this place is on my way back to my apartment. Considering the amount of times you looked at your watch or your phone within the period of time I was standing there, and the fact you didn't even see me, I figured you've been here a while."

"So you decided to come in and do what exactly?" Maya asked with a hint of steel in her voice.

He raised an eyebrow at Maya's tone but continued on. "I'm not sure exactly. I guess to see if you were okay, but judging from your tone I'm assuming you're not."

Maya's shoulders fell as she let out a sigh. "No, I'm not. It hasn't exactly been the greatest of weeks, and tonight was a night I had been looking forward to since the rest of the week turned into complete and utter crap. Guess tonight just needs to be added to _that_ list."

Josh leaned forward, giving her his complete attention. "What's been going on?"

"Everything just went up in smoke this week. A huge commission decided to go with someone else at the last minute for my side business, my boss hasn't been impressed with any of my sketches this week, got chewed out by another client for adding something they said they wanted… and now this. Getting stood up on a Friday night. Just isn't my week."

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry, Maya."

Before Maya could respond, the peppy little waitress made her way back over to the table. "Oh good! Your date arrived! I was beginning to worry about you!" the waitress exclaimed.

Maya shook her head as she slipped her hand out of Josh's and shook her head, "No, he's not –"

"—Not one to be late," Josh interrupted as he gazed into Maya's eyes, enjoying the dumbfounded look Maya was flashing him. "My meeting ran over time, you know how people can get to talking and just won't shut up. Then my phone died, so I wasn't able to call her and let her know I was on the way. I'm only glad she's still here."

"I thought she was going to leave several times within that time, you better treat her well tonight," the waitress commented as she placed menus in front of the two of them.

Josh looked up at the waitress, smiled, and then looked back at Maya. "You know I will."


End file.
